tomorrow our joint economic committee will be engaged in a hearing on fiscal cliff issues. we'll discuss strategies to create jobs, we'll discuss the implications of the fiscal cliff, and what happens if we don't get some work done by the house to pass the middle-income tax cut. we have to continue to focus on middle-income families, their lives, their struggles and what we can do to ensure they have more dollars in their pocket to continue economic growth. with that, mr. president, i will yield the floor. and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be repealed. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. first i want to thank my great colleague from pennsylvania, i enjoyed sharing a table last night with him and his beautiful, charming, intelligent wife, who he's lucky he would be the first to admit he's lucky to have married, and their four great girls